INSTITUTe FOR Religious Studies Digital Image Cultures and Norming: How Algorithmically Controlled Visual Worlds Shape Body Ideals

This research project examines how digital image cultures influence the perception and norming of body images. Social media, AI-driven image editing, and algorithmically controlled platforms such as Instagram and TikTok shape beauty ideals by reinforcing and disseminating specific visual representations. These norming processes arise from the interaction between algorithms and the behavior of users, shaping conceptions of which bodies are considered aesthetic, healthy, or desirable (Fox and Vendemia 2016; Wosk 2024).

Norm Formation through Digital Image Cultures

Platforms utilize algorithmic selection mechanisms to make certain images more visible. These processes are not random: they rely on mathematical models that prioritize specific aesthetics based on engagement rates, repeatedly bringing them to the forefront. Users adopt these dominant visual codes, which leads to the reinforcement and reproduction of body norms (Fox and Vendemia 2016).

A key example is digital influencers such as Lil Miquela or Shudu Gram—computer-generated personalities that embody beauty ideals without physically existing. Their popularity demonstrates that beauty norms are increasingly shaped and reinforced by digital technologies (Wosk 2024).

Ellen Atlanta (2023), in Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women, describes how digital beauty norms become deeply embedded in the self-image of both women and men through continuous repetition and visual staging. She compares beauty routines to ritualistic practices that establish social belonging. This project builds on Atlanta’s approach to investigate how digital image cultures establish and stabilize aesthetic and gender norms in social spaces.

Religious-Analogous Formations and Sensational Forms as Analytical Tools

This project examines the norming processes of digital visual worlds using the theory of Religious-Analogous Formations (see: ). This approach does not regard algorithms themselves as a higher authority but instead analyzes how their effects on societal norms are structured.

A particularly insightful concept in this context is that of Sensational Forms, developed by Birgit Meyer (2008, 2009). Sensational Forms describe recognizable, physically and emotionally effective modes of expression that aim to make an imagined transcendence accessible. Applied to the context of digital image cultures, these forms stabilize norms by repeatedly appearing in specific media, cultural, or social contexts.

Applied to digital image cultures, this means:

• Aesthetic repetition: Through the constant reproduction of similar body representations, certain beauty ideals are perceived as “natural.”
• Physical resonance: Users experience normed images as attractive or desirable and align themselves with them—often on an emotional level.
• Media framing: Platform logic ensures that the same aesthetics are continuously reiterated in new contexts, further reinforcing the norm.

Methodology and Objectives

This project combines media analysis, digital ethnography, and discourse analysis to examine how algorithmically controlled image cultures shape digital norming processes. The primary focus is on how the interplay between algorithmic systems and user behavior collectively contributes to the stabilization of specific body ideals.

By connecting the theory of Religious-Analogous Formations with the concept of Sensational Forms, this project makes a significant contribution to the debate on digital norming processes and the role of technologies in shaping social realities (Barba-Kay 2023). Additionally, gender-political perspectives are incorporated into the analysis, particularly regarding the media construction of femininity and its influence on societal norms (Jung 2023).